FRIENDS OF THE BUILDING
UPDATES
16th July 2024
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Email from Heritage Architect Richard Woods
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The Ticket Office is looking great.
SYPAS is to be commended for the foresight and perseverance to take on an unsafe heritage building in decline and on the verge of collapse.
The Ticket Office now stands as a proud part of SYP heritage, presenting a welcome entrance to the Showgrounds.
The use of lime mortar and traditional undersetting techniques means that the repairs will be long lasting.
Provided that the roof, gutters and stormwater are well maintained, the Ticket Office will stand for many years and enrich the lives of future generations.
I went back to my records and found a few before photos to remind me how dire the building was. The contrast is stark.
23 July 2024
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Remember the ticket office? Look at it now!
A long list of people to thank including:
- Department of Environment & Water / Heritage South Australia
- A & R Masonry
- The Friends of the Building Group
- The generous public for their donations towards the project
- Our BBQ volunteers
- Yorke Peninsula Council for their assistance in this project
- Local businesses for their time and assistance
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10th November 2023
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A quick update now that the show is over!
After our first gathering back in early 2000 with Margaret Heathcote, at last it looks like 2024 should see some big improvements to the heritage listed buildings at the oval.
Work is due to commence in January on the silicone treatment of the internal walls of the Main Pavilion on the North side.
We have planned a c omplete underpinning of the external northern wall which is currently in bad repair. This is due to begin soon after the silicone job. We have been successful with a grant application from Heritage SA (Department of Environment and Water) - thank you Michelle Hawthorne, great job!
Roof and guttering repairs will begin as soon as possible to divert water away from the building to prevent further damage.
After some negotiations, ownership of and responsibility for the ticket office at the oval entrance has been transferred from the YP Council to the Show Society. This is a fantastic outcome and we have received another grant from Heritage SA to commence the repair of this important building.
As with all these heritage grants, they are offered on a $ for $ basis so it means that we have to come up with the balance. You can see that all being well, some major improvements will start happening next year. With our fundraising over the last few years and generous donations from the community will finally be put into action. From it will come roof and guttering, silicone treatment, bench replacement as well as matching the Heritage grants.
YP Blacksmiths & Lost Skills Association
The Blacksmith group has been a big hit and they are a regular attraction on a Saturday along with a group of ladies (so far) who show their prowess at varied crafts.
I don’t know how Doug Caruthers did it but he assembled an accomplished group of blacksmiths to be operating at very short notice for a Tourism SA film shoot ON A WEDNESDAY. This should give valuable exposure for the blacksmiths and the area. I would recommend you take the time to visit on a Saturday if you haven’t already.
Thanks to all those who have contributed to the fundraising for the building thus far.
Upcoming jobs for Friends of the Building:
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The internal benches of the main room will have to be removed to allow for silicone treatment. We are aiming to unscrew the virtually new bench tops so that they may be reused, then come up with a design to allow benches to fold down against the walls.
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Building stone will have to be collected from Carmichael’s old house, brought back to the building and sorted into sizes to reduce time and labour costs for Alan Godwin.
I realise that it is the silly season for farmers but it would be much appreciated if anyone who can spare a few hours down the track on these projects could send their name and contact number. We can certainly make use of your help.
sypminlatonshow@gmail.com 0448 539 859.
Our forefathers would have put in countless hours to establish the buildings which we now aim to preserve. The tradesmen engaged are: Steve’s Roofing and stone mason builder Alan Godwin.
29 March 2024
​​Our Pavilion's priority wall has been completed! This is the combined effort of about three years of work behind the scenes to have this wall repaired.
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Thanks to:
Department for Environment and Water / Heritage South Australia / Environment SA News
A & R Masonry
Our volunteers
The Carmichael Family for the stone
Richard Woods from Habitable Places for the initial report in 2022
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